1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to folded towel dispensers, and more particularly to retrofit module inserts for existing folded towel dispensers to allow such dispensers to dispense folded towels of different footprints.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of folded towel dispensers known in the prior art. It is typical of such dispensers that they are designed to dispense stacks of folded towels having a particular footprint, the footprint being the planar width and the depth of an individual folded towel in its folded configuration. Many of the existing folded towel dispensers are designed to dispense a particular fold configuration, such as C-fold or interleaved Z-fold. Further, existing towel dispensers are designed to accommodate different maximum stack heights.
There are also varieties of paper towel dispensers which have been designed to dispense more than one type of towel. This is desirable for a number of reasons, one being that it enables towel users to have greater flexibility in purchasing from different companies having different towel products to obtain a more competitive price. One such dispenser is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,067 to Bastian. That particular dispenser is capable of dispensing both C-fold and multi-fold towels without the necessity of any dispenser-converting members or interchangeable parts. In particular, such dispenser includes a dispensing platform having a stepped shelf adapted to receive folded towels having two different footprints. The width of each towel would be the same and only the depth would vary.
Also known in the prior art are adapter plates and devices designed to be used in conjunction with existing folded towel cabinets to assist in the dispensing of towels therefrom. In some instances, these adapter plates and devices are intended to allow the dispenser to dispense various types of towels and fold configurations. One such adapter plate is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,998 to Joyce, et al. In that particular adapter plate system, the adapter plate is pivotally supported. There is a towel pack holder which first must be mounted within the dispenser. The adapter plate is then supported from the towel pack holder by means of a hook configuration. This allows the adapter plate to be placed in two different positions, one of the positions accommodating the dispensing of single-fold towel packs and roll towel packs, and a second position accommodating the dispensing of multi-fold towel packs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,028,047 to Tuft teaches another dispenser which is adapted to dispense a plurality of folded sheets of various fold configurations. This is accomplished through the provision of a plurality of bottom adapter members for a dispenser receptacle which are interchangeable with one another and which are removably engagable with a swing mounted receptacle bin in the dispenser.
Typically, the adapters in the retrofit devices of the prior art are designed such that they are intended for installation into a specific dispenser. The ability to use a particular adapter or retrofit device in a dispenser for which it was not specifically designed is generally left to chance. It is also typical that some towel dispensing cabinets are designed to be recessed into bathroom walls. There are a number of cabinet manufacturers, and it is practice of such cabinet manufacturers to produce a wide variety of cabinets in varying heights, widths and depths. As there is no industry standard for cabinet manufacturers to follow, there are differences between cabinets of different manufacturers. Further, there may even be differences within the same model dispenser from one manufacturer. None of the prior art adapter devices allows for an adjustable stack height such that the adapter device is designed to fit in a plurality of towel cabinets without altering the physical profile of the original cabinet, and further, without any appreciable loss of stack height capacity.